Rosenfels leads Texans past Bucs

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Battered, beaten and bruised, the Houston
Texans aren't going down without a fight.

Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels threw three touchdown passes
to three different receivers to lead the Texans to a 28-14 win
over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

After losing their previous two games on the road, the playoffs
are nothing more than a long shot for the oft-laughable Houston
franchise.

But Rosenfels, filling in for the injured Matt Schaub, completed
27-of-36 passes for 209 yards, throwing touchdown passes to
Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels to give the Texans
(6-7) their second straight win at home and fourth of the
season.

"Definitely, I felt more comfortable today as the starter," said
Rosenfels, who will likely start Thursday when the Texans host
Denver for a nationally televised game. "But I think the more
you do anything, the better you get at it and the more
comfortable you are. I think I got better as the game wore on,
and that was tough, especially against their great defense."

"Sage is a gutsy player and I said that in front of he and all
of his teammates last night," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "He
is a guy that just has that drive and determination, and he
wants to be a starter on this team."

Andre Johnson caught nine passes for 82 yards, and is excited
about what the last three games could mean for the Texans, who
need just one win to tie their franchise high (2004).

"We are banged up right now, but guys are willing to do whatever
it takes to win football games," Johnson said. "We've never
had a winning season around here, and with three games left that
is still really possible for us."

Luke McCown started in the place of the injured Jeff Garcia for
the Bucs (8-5) and completed 25-of-38 passes for 266 yards and
no touchdowns.

Earnest Graham carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scored
both of Tampa Bay's touchdowns.

"We want to, at this point, be playing playoff football," Graham
said. "We played well to start the first half and the second
half, but we didn't get it done. We just have to get back out
there next Monday and try to improve."

It was McCown's fumble on a muffed snap that gave the Texans the
ball in the red zone with a chance to put the game away in the
final quarter.

Houston made the turnover count, taking a 28-14 lead on the
first play of the fourth quarter when Rosenfels hit Daniels in
the back of the end zone.

Rosenfels fumbled twice, but he made up for it with his second
multiple touchdown game of the season. He threw for four
touchdowns in a loss to the Tennessee Titans on October 21.

After stopping the Bucs on a 4th-and-2 on the first drive of the
game, Houston used a 12-play, 66-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead
when Rosenfels hit Johnson for a 3-yard score with 3:59 left in
the opening quarter.

Rosenfels fumbled on the Texans' next drive to set up Tampa Bay,
which only needed five plays to even the score. Graham
factored in four of the five chances and capped the short drive
with a 4-yard power run into the end zone early in the second
quarter.

Houston used a turnover of its own to take the lead back later
in the quarter.

Bucs receiver Ike Hilliard fumbled after taking a vicious hit by
Will Demps, giving the Texans the ball on Tampa Bay's 23-yard
line.

The Texans needed just three plays to take the lead, capping the
drive with Rosenfels hitting Walter from 8 yards out and Walter
stretching the ball just over the goal line for the 14-7
advantage.

The Texans extended their lead to 21-7 when Andre Davis returned
the second-half opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. For
Davis, it was the second kickoff return for a touchdown in his
career.

"That was huge," Kubiak said. "Before the game we talked about
needing a big special teams play somewhere in the game and we
got one right there."

While playing for Cleveland in 2002, he ran one back from 95
yards against the Houston Texans.

Graham got the Bucs back in the game when he capped a four-play,
69 yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Alex Smith caught a
31-yard pass from McCown to get that drive started.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for Tampa Bay, which
still owns a comfortable lead as the only over-.500 team in the
NFC South. The Bucs could have clinched a playoff berth with a
win sunday and a loss by the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.

"We're going to take care of all those scenarios later," Tampa
Bay coach Jon Gruden said. "We just didn't play well enough to
win today. The goal is not necessarily to qualify for the
playoffs, but to win a championship. But we have to play better
than we did today to do that."

Mario Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, also got in on
the act for the Texans, who played arguably their best defensive
game of the season. Williams recorded a sack for the fourth
straight game, becoming just the second player in team history
to do just that.

"I just try to get comfortable before every game and just keep
it simple," Williams said. "If I get on a roll, then I am on a
roll. It is what it is. We have a tough schedule - including
this game - to close out the year and this was just a great win
for us."